The Doctor Is Out
by Rivaille D'Anzelotte
Summary: It was always Angela's job to take care of them whenever they get injured or, worse, get sick. For the first time, however, the Swiss doctor has come down with a cold. The members of the recalled Overwatch will have to adjust their lives without her for a while, whether it's on the battlefield or not.
1. Verdammt

Pic by 18（Leonidas Sun）on Art Station. I do not own Overwatch nor Blizzard. Mercy76 gives me life.

New story, new prompt. That, and I'm cranking out all of my work here rather than my actual domestic responsibility towards my family. Lmao

**A/N: **So there's this prompt I randomly searched on Google Images. Angela gets really sick, and while everyone else is on a mission, Soldier 76 'volunteers' to stay behind to nurse their medic. That's...pretty much it. I'm only in this to satisfy my fandom.

Ez-ly said than done, but hey we're writers, we dunno how to draw and if you do, you're one lucky bastard.

Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

There was something wrong today, Angela privately mused.

She had woken up and felt like a truck had hit her; not that she was in actual, immediate pain, but there's this heaviness to her body that's forcing her to lay in bed rather than getting away from it. And Angela hated staying in bed. Every second of rest, as she said to herself, is another life flitting away.

So this is what her patients feel. She almost felt sorry for them, but now's not the time to start any pity parties.

Today, they have a series of missions that require them to split up the team. She, alongside the squad Soldier 76 and Winston had assigned her to, will be going to Eichenwalde to secure the supply load towards the surrounding villages of that abandoned castle. After that, it will be a long trip to Hanamura to do some surveillance and volunteer work. The others will be doing some scouting missions at old watchpoints, to salvage whatever territories they can get before Talon reaches them. There's also an interesting escort mission in Realto, and a security detail situated in the Temple of Anubis.

All of this undercover work was thanks to their efforts of restoring the peace to this world, even if they are small, unlike the work they used to do in their previous organization.

And so today, Angela decided that she can't rest while everyone else is working their butts off. She knew it was rather unprofessional of her, as well as hypocritical as she's a doctor, but she figured treating her symptoms now would keep her upright. Ibuprofen for the headache, water intake for the throat, brief cold compress at the armpits and neck. She thought she was doing well, hiding her fever, until somebody touched her bare skin.

"Whoa, Angela, love. You feeling okay?" Lena said in surprise as she held onto her hand.

The blonde inwardly cursed at her carelessness. "Y-yes. Just feeling a bit under the weather, that's all, Lena." She offered a nervous smile to the brunette, who only shook her head.

"You're quite warm for such a nice day out." The young Brit took this time to study her closely. "Oh, Ange," She bit her lip. "You look awful!"

"Why, thank you Lena." Said the medic, amused. But Tracer was already feeling her forehead and comparing hers, gasping at the stark difference. "By jove, you're burning up! You can't go out today, you'd sooner die under the heat." Angela rolled her eyes at the thought. She's had worse. Surely, a simple cold can't knock her out.

And yet, Lena's voice seemed so far away. Her mind, wired since her teenage years to soak up a medical textbook cover to back, is already warning her of the tell-tale signs and symptoms of that dreaded disease. In fact, the whole world seemed to be spinning in a multitude of colors; it is either that or Tracer was upside down. "What's going on?" She heard a gruff voice as she tried to steady her vision.

She could feel a hand on her shoulder, effectively securing her in place lest she'd collapse. "I think Ange's got a cold, dad." Came the Brit's worried reply as she tried to, once again, fight the illness from sheer will.

"I'm fine, you guys. Really." She managed to squeak out from her already dry throat, smiling slightly in a fruitless attempt. Angela could make out the image of Soldier 76 in front of her, and for some reason, he kept getting closer. She couldn't understand what's his deal, until 76 was so close enough for her to peer into the bright redness of his visor, as his forehead gingerly touched hers.

In that instant, Angela felt dizzy. She's not sure if that's her cold talking or the already close proximity of the mysterious soldier. Her breathing hitched a bit as she felt the low rumble of the man's voice. "Huh, you're right. She's burning up." He grunted as he stepped away, and Mercy could feel steam coming out of her ears.

Her heartbeat is definitely irregular. "Tracer, get her to med bay. I'm going to tell Winston bout' this, switch the party comp." He ordered as the blonde felt hands latch onto her arm.

"Okay, dad."

"No, wait…" Angela tried again, but even her head felt dead weight. 76 seemed to glare at her and shook his head, urging her to follow the girl. She finally let Lena drag her away, tiredly hanging onto her ally's shoulders as she tried to assess her own diagnosis.

"Sore throat, stuffy nose, a fever, and generally just a bad feeling alongside this headache." She muttered as she was hauled onto one of the many free beds in the medical bay.

"Yup, that's definitely a cold, doc." Said Lena, a serious and worried look etched on her face. She got their medic an extra pillow as well as a larger blanket, and Angela sunk into the bed, soaking up the softness of the material like a sponge.

Lena fidgeted on her spot. "Anything else I can do, love?" She whispered as the other shook her head.

"I've already taken my antibiotics." She murmured onto the soft pillow. "Go check in with Winston, I'll get up in a minute." Her voice trailed away until a slight snore sounded from the blonde. Lena took this time to carefully retreat from the room, gently closing the door to give her friend the much needed rest.

Her comm was ringing, and after blinking a few paces away from the room, Tracer answered the call. "Tracer here. Just dropped off Angela at med bay. What are we gonna do now Winston?"

* * *

**A/N: **I guess this is another 3-part chapter series, I've been trying to get back into writing before my supposed deadline, March 31st. After that, it's sayonara world!

Cheers!


	2. I'm not in it for the glory

Pic by 18（Leonidas Sun）on Art Station. I do not own Overwatch nor Blizzard. Mercy76 gives me life.

**A/N: **Do I have to explain why Angela, with her superior nanotechnology, came down with a cold? Maybe. I mean, this is pretty much an anime trope; Overwatch is serious enough as it is.

Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

"This will be difficult." Mused Winston, surrounded by the twenty other agents of Overwatch. "Without our main healer, we'll be forced to readjust some mission plans."

The agents have gathered in one of the recently refurbished meeting rooms of the Watchpoint. Since the launch of the recall almost two years ago, Winston was perfectly fine with the state of the Watchpoint, except that Angela insisted they clean up. The point of the recall as an organization, as she had clearly said time and again, was to _look _like an organization freedom fighters, vigilantes and mercenaries around the world would join. That includes mopping up peanut butter stains and swatting cobwebs from the ceiling.

At the beginning, it was only him, Tracer, Angela, Reinhardt, Brigitte and Torbjorn. They were the only ones who answered immediately to the cause, and it fueled him with pride knowing that the veterans came back without question, alongside their very first recruit. Soon after, in the coming months, old and new faces returned as well.

What was once a small group of people had now become a force to be reckoned with. That, as well as some more cleaning up to do to accommodate the new people.

"If I may," Their resident archer, Hanzo Shimada, raised his hand. "I think it would be best to lay off some missions based on priority. It will be difficult to juggle all of the assigned missions today if we aren't complete. And Dr. Ziegler herself has an integral role to most of these." He stated carefully. There was a collective murmur of agreement as the scientist nodded.

"The villages surrounding Eichenwalde will still need those supplies and rations, so I believe it's still in our list." Wilhelm Reinhardt, a native of the place, spoke up rather gravely unlike his usual self.

"I guess we're givin' the old watchpoints a rest then; we'll come back to them once everythin' else is settled." Jesse McCree's southern drawl sounded, tipping his hat in place.

"Then Hanamura will have to wait. Surely, it can survive another day on its own." Genji Shimada nodded at the scientist's suggestion; he is far more worried about the blonde doctor.

Speaking of… "There's still one other question left. Who's going to stay behind and take care of Angela?" Winston said as a silence fell on the group. They hadn't considered that; so far, it was always Angela's job to take care of them when they get hurt or sick. This was the only time it became the other way around, and nobody knows who's up for the task.

Winston knew that someone has to take care of Angela. He suspected she overworked herself, but more than that; he needed somebody else to stay behind and watch over the base. Athena could only do so much, and he feared leaving behind a sick medic while an ongoing breach would give him a heart attack.

"I'll take care of Angela." Pharah responded first, her face pink, but her mother Ana Amari was quick to shoot her down. "You're needed in Cairo, Fareeha. Helix will need to see their lieutenant for Overwatch to continue good relations with."

"How about I take care of Dr. Zielger?" Genji casually mentioned, trying to hide a smirk when D. Va, aka Hana Song, merely shook her head. "Sorry, Genji. The situation in Busan's is already dire enough. We need your firepower there."

The meeting room erupted into suggestions and immediate, outright refusals. Almost everyone in this room has an important role; much more so for their bedridden doctor, but there doesn't seem to be an agreement. Until— "I can stay behind." Winston's jaw dropped when Soldier 76 spoke up, and everyone quieted down immediately.

"What, you 76?" Old Torbjorn wondered out loud, as everyone else had the same sentiments, except Ana, who hid a private smile. "I thought you of all people would wanna be in the heat of a battle; what changed your mind, dad?" Lena spoke as the soldier merely shrugged.

"Everyone else has an important role in all of the battles to come." He started. "I'm an army of one; I can stay in base, provide information, hold down the fort, as well as look after Mercy. I know how to deal with these kinds of things. She'll be in good hands." Everyone took a while for the information to sink into their minds. 76 can pretty much fit into any role thrown at him. Offense, support, defense, he is the best 'jack'-of-all-trades they have, and if they're going to have some outside support, they may as well get him to do it.

Ana stepped up beside him. "76 here knows how to take care of people. Why, when I was out sick he made this delicious chicken noodle soup for me from Horus-know's-where in the middle of a sandstorm." She said with a happy sigh at the memory, just as the older man jerked his body in response, accidentally throwing himself into a coughing fit.

"WHAT! DAD CAN MAKE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP?!" Hana exclaimed, her face twisting into a pout as she fidgeted on her spot. "Now I wanna get sick too…"

"Aww, now I'm jealous for Dr. Ziegler."

"Ain't that mighty kind of you, partner?"

"Well, I feel at ease now that the young _fraulein_ has someone capable to take care of her."

"_Bwoo beep!_"

"Alright, enough, enough! You all get to your missions now." Soldier 76 barked, even with the mask he can't help but clutch onto it protectively. Nobody can see the redness of his face, but his visor seems to be glowering more than it used to.

Winston had adjusted the squad placements. For the Eichenwalde supply escort, Reinhardt will be the team leader with Torbjorn, Brigitte, Mei and Zarya. Busan will be under D. Va's supervision with Genji, Lucio, Orisa and Bastion. The security detail for the Temple of Anubis will be a joint leadership between Pharah and Ana, with Symmetra, Junkrat and Roadhog following them. Lastly, the supply mission in Realto will be spearheaded by Winston, McCree, Hanzo, Zenyatta and Tracer.

Soldier 76 gave a noise of approval at the team compositions. They're short on people, but this is for the best. "Be ready in thirty minutes." He dismissed them as the meeting adjourned.

The others rushed to get ready, picking up their weapons from the armory and stocking the drop ships with supplies. Some of the missions will take days to complete, the Eichenwalde and the Busan ones namely. He himself was supposed to go to Realto, but with their medic's current condition, they'll have to make do.

On his part, he'll have to watch their missions closely alongside Athena, while he cooks up his mother's famous soup. Not exactly what he had in mind in his crusade as Soldier 76, but for their immaculate, godsend of an angel? Even this vigilante would bend over backwards for her.

He walked with Ana to the Orca, carrying one of the ammunition boxes needed for the mission. "You take care of the kids, Ana." He mentioned as he placed the box on one corner of the ship. The Egyptian sniper only seemed to smile at him.

"And you take care of her, Jack." She whispered as he narrowed his eyes at the name. There was always some form of tension whenever his friend spoke of the name, but in this case, he'll let it slide. There are more important things to be talking about than his ill-forgotten past.

Such as their bedridden medic. "Make sure Dr. Ziegler doesn't suddenly get up to do more work, 76." Winston said.

"We'll come back with some souvenirs!"

"Now you two play nice while we're gone~ OW!"

"Ignore Jesse here."

"We'll try to finish up early, Mr. 76." Mei-Ling Zhou said as he nodded at her direction. "Yeah, just be careful out there, and watch each other's backs. You don't want to worry Mercy now, would you?" He huffed as everyone gave their own forms of agreement.

Soldier 76 then waved goodbye at the drop ships heading off the hangar. The younger generation, particularly Hana, Lucio and Junkrat, enthusiastically waved at him from the small windows. In some ways, this felt like seeing off his kids, going to school. "Tch, young punks." He grumbled at the thought as he went back inside. He needs to check up on Angela now.

* * *

**A/N: **I lied. This is gonna be more than three chapters. Hahahaha. Why am I torturing myself.

Sorry if this is short, or forced. It's 9:49 PM here. Next chapter is just shameless fluff. Because I live and breathe Mercy76.

Cheers!


	3. Patching Up

Pic by 18（Leonidas Sun）on Art Station. I do not own Overwatch nor Blizzard. Mercy76 gives me life.

**A/N: **I did a thing where chapter titles came from their voiced lines. Because I blame AO3 and their _wunderbar_ layout system.

Massive thanks for anon's, er, _anonymous_, support! Anything for the fandom. I love reviews, gives me hope that somebody out there is reading my stories.

Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

Angela was flitting to and from a dreamless sleep. She can't even tell if she had been sleeping or not.

There were times she would stare into the ceiling, counting Junkrats in her mind, until she'd doze off, again and again. Even with Athena adjusting the temperature and the extra blanket Lena had provided, Mercy's body is still cold. She shivered underneath the sheets, trying to block out as much of the cold as possible. She debated having to use her lab coat or get another blanket when her basic locomotor skills have failed her. She's stuck on the bed, regardless of her will to get out of it.

She wondered how much time have passed. It didn't seem too long. Maybe she really must sit this mission out… "Mercy?" She heard her name when the door to med bay opened up, and she could easily make out the figure of Soldier 76 just from his mask and visor. But as soon as he drew closer, Angela realized that the jacket was gone. Instead, the old soldier's wearing a plain black turtleneck alongside his signature military pants.

It dawned upon the Swiss doctor that this may be the first time she's seen him in his most casual clothes.

"Mercy, can you hear me?" The old soldier tried again, concerned that she did not respond. Her tired blue eyes finally caught on, and she slowly blinked out of her stupor. "Yes, 76. What are you doing here?" She questioned softly as she tried to sit up. Lying down was making it difficult for her to breathe, and the man beside her helped her get comfortable.

She tried to ignore how _fit_ his shirt clung to him. Having him so close makes it _a tad bit _difficult. "If you're here...does that mean the missions were cancelled?" She could feel a lump in her throat as she forced the words out.

"No, Winston and I rearranged the team compositions." He replied in monotone, seeing some of the nervousness lifting off of Mercy's face. "They've already left."

Angela took this moment to process the new information. She looked at him with a slight confused stare, "What are you doing here, 76?" She asked him again.

"I volunteered to look after you. And someone needed to hold down the fort." He added as her confusion only seemed to escalate.

"You?" He lifted a brow at her direction. "Forgive me, 76, but I expected you to be the last person to take care of me." She said with a giggle as his face slackened, and chuckled with her as well.

"Trust me, I thought so too."

"You're only here so that you'd anchor me to the bed now, is that right?"

"Why, Mercy, I'm shocked at your accusation."

They both quieted down after a shared laugh, mulling over their short conversation with smile on her face and relaxed stance from him. Contrary to whatever the others believe, she is always at ease around the old soldier. Her obvious love to protect people often clash with his views of hurting them, whether it is the enemy or not. Her dislike for weapons and warfare cannot comprehend his love for the smell of pulse munitions in the morning. In the end, however, they decided that whatever it is the other does, it is always for the same ideology they both share: to save lives.

His, of course, borderlined between vengeance and justice. She didn't have to know that.

Angela closed her eyes as she tried to meditate through the pain of her body; something she learned from Zenyatta and Genji. The old soldier simply sat down on the plastic chair beside her, trying to think of a conversation. He was worried; noting the paleness of her skin and how her hands would clench the sheets from time to time.

"Can't your nanotechnology, er, do something?"

"Hmm, they can, but," Angela's tired eyes seemed to glaze over when she opened them. "My body is already pumped full of nanites, and the fact that a simple cold has taken over means that I may have less to no resistance to it. It's best to let my body fight it out before turning over to nanotechnology. Or else I won't ever get used to another cold."

A slight surge of pain in her head made her double over, causing an alarmed 76 to stand up abruptly as he moved closer. "You okay? Is it your head?"

"Yes, I'll need to sleep this off." She whimpered as 76 moved to have her lay down once again. She felt his large, coarse hands gently holding her neck and shoulders to rest on the pillow. She realized he had taken off his combat gloves.

_'He has nice hands.'_ She blushed, hoping the fever masked it. Then again, she can't tell any of 76's expressions very well, with his mask and all. "Get some rest then, Mercy. I already have soup simmering in the kitchen." He quietly said as she let out a small smirk.

"Soldier 76's famous chicken noodle soup," He was surprised that she knew that. "I would be honored to taste that." She murmured before instantly falling into a deep sleep. He figured it must be her meds knocking her out. He slowly exhaled as he arranged her blanket, making sure her skin wasn't exposed to the cold. He finished fussing over her and made way to the doorway, stopping to give her one last look before heading over to do the rest of his duties.

* * *

**A/N: **I lied. This is gonna be more than three chapters. Hahahaha. Why am I torturing myself.

Not particularly happy with this one. Professor told me, time and again, never do the switching povs between characters. I'll edit this, I promise.

Cheers!


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